Now You See It
by Queen of Duct Tape
Summary: That spark between Lily Evans and James Potter keeps flickering, but almost refuses to light...almost. Now finished, but will possibly be edited. Please read and review.
1. Windex

**Now You See It...**

Summary: That spark between Lily Evans and James Potter keeps on flickering, but almost refuses to light...almost. Rated T just in case. Romance/Humour

Disclaimer: Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I could say this is mine,

But that isn't true!

* * *

**Chapter One: Windex**

Lily Evans screamed. Her mother, a couple of rooms and a set of stairs away, nearly had a heart attack. She dashed to the kitchen, determined to beat off whatever evil was threatening her daughter. She burst through the door and found...Lily doing a victory dance on the table.

"No, Lily!" her mother shouted, as she was unable to protect her daughter from the evils of...Freshly Applied Windex.

Lily Evans' seventeen-year-old frame fell gracelessly to the floor, but she jumped up quickly and began dancing around the kitchen.

"I did it! I did it! I got it!" she screamed at her mother, who looked amazingly happy for (a) someone who'd just had their eardrums blown out, and (b) had no idea what was going on. Indeed, Mrs. Evans was probably suffering from shock.

"I am so proud of you, dear! What exactly is it that you've gotten?" Mrs. Evans inquired of her ecstatically dancing daughter.

"I'm Head Girl!" Lily screamed, dancing straight into her sister, Petunia, who had come into the kitchen to get a snack for her boyfriend, Vernon. "Sorry, Petunia!" Lily told her sister, now dancing into Vernon, who had followed Petunia in. "Sorry, uh, what's-your-name!" Lily apologized again.

Vernon looked distinctly disgruntled at having been danced into and then called "what's-your-name" by a skinny little redhead.

"Lily! If you don't stop soon, you are going to seriously incapacitate someone!" Mrs. Evans said as Lily danced into the street. She was proud of her daughter, to be sure, but there was really no need to terrorize the entire neighborhood if it could be prevented, which was what Lily probably would have ended up doing if left to her own devices.

* * *

A train whistle sounded. Lily Evans sped up; it would not do for the Head Girl to miss the train to school.

She shoved her trunk through the entrance and jumped on just as the train began to move, causing her to lose her balance. She gripped the train with one hand while the other flailed helplessly, and suddenly another set of hands was hauling her into the train. She straightened, blushing, and found herself face-to-face with James Potter.

"You're welcome, Evans," he said, smiling at her. She smiled back, wondered why she did that, and said, "Thank you, Potter," then left to put her trunk in a storage area.

Once back at the front of the train, Lily headed for the Heads' compartment. The sliding door was locked, and the window was too dirty for her to see who the Head Boy was. She sighed, conjured up a bottle of Windex, wiped off the door, and found herself, once again, face-to-face with James Potter.

As it hit him who he would be working with all year, he braced himself for yet another infamous screaming match between James Potter and Lily Evans. But she didn't scream at him. Instead, she fainted.


	2. Kumquat

**I HAVE REVIEWS! YAY! Kudos to glowing-ice, it's a riot, and singdownthemoonHorselver. I'm glad you liked it! She fainted because of James, and I didn't particularly feel like writing a shouting match, so, as the idiot playing God here, I made her faint instead. Personally, I can't say I like Windex all that much, once I sprayed it at a window and it rebounded to hit me in the eye. And I may or may not add new characters. Which hurt. It depends on how much my friends beg to be put in it. Because I really need a new calculator, and if one is offered, I just can't resist. So…since I have nothing else ramble on about…here's chapter 2!**

Disclaimer: Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I could say this is mine,

But that isn't true!

* * *

**Chapter Two: Kumquat**

"Evans…Evans…C'mon, Lily, wake up!"

"Huh?" Lily said, as a vaguely familiar voice was calling her name. She opened her eyes, to see James Potter leaning over. She shut her eyes, and then opened them again. He was still there. "Where are we, Potter, and why are you here?" she asked, frowning at him.

He smiled back at her. "We're in the Heads' compartment―"

"So what are you doing in here?"

"I'm, uh―" he coughed "―I'm Head Boy, actually," he finished, his smile fading slightly as Lily looked at him like he had suddenly morphed into Freddy Krueger.

"You―but―what―how could you―_Head Boy_!" she spluttered.

"Am I really that irresponsible?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied without hesitation.

"Aw, c'mon, Lils, give me a chance."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you are the most selfish, rude, big-headed, arrogant prat I have ever had the displeasure to meet."

"_Pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaase?_"

"No!"

And so the train ride went.

* * *

"You know you love me." 

"Shut up, Potter," Lily said as she and James climbed into a thestral-drawn carriage. Not that either of them knew that.

"I'll shut up if you go out with me, sweets."

"Prongs, mate, girls really don't like to be called food names." Sirius Black had followed them in, along with Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and a couple of Lily's friends, two girls called Jessica and Abigail, also known as Jessi and Nerd.

"I love you, Nerd," said Jessi, seating herself, not realizing that the seat she tried to take was already occupied. Remus looked quite shocked at this turn of events, and Jessi, blushing furiously, slid off his lap and into the seat next to him instead. "Sorry," she muttered, smiling at him.

"I love you, too, Jessi," Abby said, politely ignoring the fact that her friend had just done something extremely stupid. "What do you want?"

"Help with my Arithmancy homework when we get some," Jessi replied. "Why am I even taking that subject, anyway?"

"Because after graduation you can't just sit on your ass 24/7, and you may as well try to do something useful."

Meanwhile, James and Sirius were continuing their conversation about girls and food names.

"But why not?"

"Dunno. _I'd _want to be called food names. Let's see...I'd want to be called chocolate...and apple pie..." a look of rapture filled Sirius' face as he considered all the wonderful delights of being named after food.

"...peanut butter...and roast beef...and steak..." James continued, assuming the same expression as Sirius.

Lily rolled her eyes as the carriage rolled to a stop. "We can call you food names, kumquat," she said, climbing out. Jessi and Abby laughed. Sirius frowned. "What's a kumquat?" he asked.

"It's a type of fruit," Jessi answered. "Right?" she glanced at Abby, who nodded, and added, "If you don't like the name, blame the Chinese. They came up with it." The girls followed Lily out of the carriage.

* * *

Once in the Great Hall, Lily looked for some open places at the Gryffindor table through the sea of students milling about aimlessly. After about five minutes of fruitless searching, someone shouted her name. 

"Oi, Lily, over here!" Now having a direction to focus in, Lily quickly spotted her friend Grace and sat down across from her. Jessi and Abby soon joined them, along with, to Lily's horror, the Marauders.

"Hope they hurry up with the Sorting, I'm famished," Sirius said, staring in longing at his empty plate. James, Remus, and Peter laughed, while Lily glared at them. Her friends assumed carefully neutral expressions; they couldn't bring themselves to glare at people who shared their sentiments.

Abby rolled her eyes after Lily had been wearing one of those "if looks could turn people into jelly, you'd be a pile of mush on the floor" expressions for at least five minutes. "You know, Lils, it's not a crime to be hungry. I could use a nice, cold glass of pumpkin juice right now," she paused. "And a drumstick or three, and some mashed potatoes, and some corn, and a couple of biscuits, and―"

"―and the Sorting's about to start!" Lily hissed at her, but she got the point. The Sorting Hat opened it's rip and began to sing. Sirius and James started a game of Exploding Snap, and Abby took out a book while Jessi and Grace took out a piece of parchment and began to write something that looked suspiciously like a note. Remus gave them all a look that said, "I'll just pretend I'm not seeing this," but Lily didn't notice anything until a house of cards blew up in her face, causing her glare at Peter, who was, incidentally, directly across from her, and right between James and Sirius. She scowled all through Dumbledore's speech. Then the food appeared, and she was distracted from her dutiful scowling by Abby, who had yet to glance up from her book. She poked the bookworm in the ribs. Abby squeaked and jumped slightly, then forgot all about her extremely ticklish ribs as she spotted the victuals before her.

"Food!" she cried happily, grabbing a plate of mashed potatoes and covering her plate in them. Satisfied her friend would be eating, Lily turned to her own plate.

Sirius, however, wasn't eating. Instead, he was staring at the fruit in front of him, trying to figure out what it is. Remus looked at him concernedly, Sirius _never _skipped meals. "You okay, Padfoot?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sirius replied. "But what are these things? They look like a cross between an orange and a pear," he said.

Grace paused in her eating and looked expectantly at Abby. "What?" she asked through a mouthful of potatoes.

"What are those?" Grace repeated Sirius' question, pointing. Abby swallowed and grinned.

"They're kumquats," she answered.


	3. Chocolate Eclaire

**Special thanks to all reviewers! You know what, I'm going to make you all pancakes. Because that's about the only thing I can make without blowing up the kitchen.**

**Forever in Eternal Darkness- Glad you liked the kumquats, they've always been my favorite fruit!**

**glowing-ice- Well, here it is!**

**Love No Sakai- I read your stories, and I am pretty sure I reviewed, but I don't actually remember whether I did that or not. I know I read them, though, and I loved 'em!**

**lilnovelist- Thank you! And, here it is!**

**it's a riot- You're welcome, although I waited a little longer to update this time. I promise a shorter wait for the next one, though! And I she was actually calling Sirius a kumquat, hence them being placed before him at the feast.**

**Thank you again, and please review this too!**

Disclaimer: Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I could say this is mine,

But that isn't true!

* * *

**Chapter Three: Rainbow**

The feast proceeded as usual; no spontaneous combustions, nothing exploded, any insane kleptomaniac urges to hold Dumbledore's chalice hostage for Dorito's were kept under control. After the Marauders finished their fifth helpings, Dumbledore stood up, gave his little spiel, and dismissed the students. James and Lily reported to the Head Table as their letters had instructed them to.

Professor McGonagall strode towards them. Lily straightened and tried to look as responsible as possible, while James just grinned at the Transfiguration teacher, who gave him a small smile in return, and nodded to them both.

"Being a Head of Hogwarts is a position that holds certain responsibilities, and, as such, certain privileges as well. The two of you will be organizing the patrolling schedule for prefects, planning trips to Hogsmeade, and plan the Graduation Ball for seventh years. You also have the liberty of not having a curfew, you are capable of taking points from Houses, and the two of you have your own common room and individual rooms. If you will follow me, I will show you to your portrait hole." Professor McGonagall led them out of the hall, up seven flights of stairs, and through several corridors before coming to a stop before a portrait depicting several wizards dressed in colonial clothing playing poker. One of them looked up curiously and inquired, "Password?"

"Shaben damas," Professor McGonagall replied. Lily stifled a laugh. James looked at her, and she shook her head, indicating that she would tell him later. The portrait swung forward on well-oiled hinges, and the professor smiled at the two Heads, then left. James pretended to hold the picture open for Lily, who, to his surprise didn't glare or shake her head, but instead smiled slightly. He hoped that meant he was growing on her, because if she kept as strictly to the rules as usual, he was in for a _very_ boring year.

Once inside the common room, Lily stopped and stood stock still, causing James to run straight into her. He looked slightly disgruntled. "You know, Lils, usually it's not an overly brilliant idea to just stop where you know someone else is going to be walking. Not that I mind bumping into you, on the contrary, it's just―" He paused. Lily had yet to turn around and smack him across the face. He leaned around her to see the room. "Blimey," he whispered softly.

The room was gorgeous. It was only slightly smaller than the Gryffindor common room, and it had been painted a pale honey color, with crème-colored curtains and a golden couch and loveseat, and two overstuffed burgundy armchairs. There were also identical cherry wood desks, and one matching bookshelf. Several pictures hung on the walls. In the center of each of the two windows were facets that made rainbows dance on the windowseats in sunlight and beige carpet, you know that color that doesn't stain no matter how much Coke you spill on it. Everything flickered merrily in the light cast by a fire in the grate. James rested his head on her shoulder. "Pretty, huh, Lils?" he asked.

"Don't call me Lils," she said pushing him off. She walked the rest of the way into the room and spotted a hallway. "What's down there?" she asked. James looked at her. "Well, I would assume we have bedrooms and a bathroom," he replied. "Unless, of course, you _want_ to sleep out here."

Lily smiled again, and James looked at her worriedly. "Are you sick?" he asked. "No…" she replied, mystified. "Are you sure?" he asked again. "Because that makes twice that you've smiled at something I said. Or have you finally come to your senses and realized how brilliant and charming I am?" he asked excitedly, looking exactly like an excited little puppy. Lily laughed at him, shook her head, and walked down the hallway, stopping in front of a door. Her finger traced the gold engraving: _Lily Evans, Head Girl_.

James looked at her just standing there, looking at the door. Didn't she want to go in and actually see her room? he wondered, then, shrugging, walked up to his own door and opened it. The room was painted blue, but that was about all he noticed before dashing in and throwing himself on the bed, and promptly standing up and jumping. Boing…boing…boing…

Lily had watched him for a few seconds, then turned back around, shaking her head, and opened her own door. Three of her walls were lilac, but the fourth was a beautiful collage of several different pastel colors that blended into one another perfectly. Forget-me-not, pale pink, lilac, granny smith apple… Her comforter was a lovely flower print and she had several throw pillows that matched her unique wall. Her trunk was at the end of the bed, with a quilt on top of it that was a nice dandelion color. She was about to examine her oak dresser when she heard a shout from James.

"Hey, Lily! I think I found a secret passage!" he yelled at her. She shook her head, and went to open a door. She suspected it led to the bathroom, because the other door was transparent, and obviously led to a balcony. She pulled open the door to reveal what was, indeed the bathroom, and James, who had apparently been trying to open the door to her room, convinced it was a secret passage.

"There might be a passage to somewhere in the common room. If you really wanted to know if you could find one, you could ask the portraits," Lily told him, smiling again. He grinned at her.

"That makes three!" he told her, grinning wider.

"Three what?" she asked.

"Three times you've smiled at me," he replied. "Does that mean you'll go out with me?" he asked hopefully.

"You wish," she answered.

"Well, duh. I've been wishing that for the past six years," he informed her, as she rolled her eyes.

"So what all's in here?" she asked, changing the subject. James then proceeded to give her the grand tour of their bathroom.

"Well, over here on the right we've got the necessary toilet, and next to that is the sink. Up above that is the mirror and medicine cabinet, which is empty. On your left is the shower and towel rack, and I think this gigantic swimming pool thing is supposed to be a tub. Not sure about that though." Lily looked at the 'swimming pool thing' and its numerous taps. She bent down to turn one on. It poured out blue bubbles that didn't pop when she poked them, and water. She tried several more taps, each pouring out different kinds of bubbles and water. (Like the prefects' bath in Goblet of Fire.) There were some purple clouds that Lily liked, and James thought some white foam might support his weight, so he ran a couple steps and jumped on top of it, and bounced off, and splashed water everywhere, thoroughly drenching Lily, although not nearly as much as himself, which made sense as he was entirely submerged.

He came up spluttering and laughing, while Lily just sat there, shocked. James took the opportunity to grab her and pull her in with him. Her shriek echoed off the walls a couple of times, but she came up laughing, too. James grinned and climbed out, offering a hand to help Lily as well. To his surprise, she took it, and let him pull her out of the tub.

"Let's go see about a passage in the common room!" James decided, grabbing Lily's hand and dashing through his room back into the common room, as she protested about not wearing proper clothing. He walked up to a picture of a little girl running and laughing in a meadow. "Are there any secret passages in here?" he asked politely, smiling at her. She giggled and blushed, pointing a picture of a Victorian era lord and lady having a picnic.

"I think there's one behind the Duke and Duchess over there," she said shyly. Lily smiled and thanked her as James dashed across the room. She joined him, just as he was telling them, "a stag." She looked at him questioningly.

"It leads to the kitchens. The Duke and Duchess of Soufflé are just asking us each a question that only we would know, and then we pick a password," he told her.

She smiled. "Soufflé?" she asked.

The Duchess shook her head. "It does lead to kitchens, after all," she said. "Idiot over here thought soufflé was funny, and Monsieur Dumbledore liked it as well." Lily smiled at her sympathetically. "Now dear," she said, "exactly what time is it that you always wake up at on the 14th of every month?" the duchess asked.

"6:39," Lily replied. James gave her a look that said, 'How do you remember these things?' The duke chuckled.

"So, what's your password?" he asked.

"How about chocolate éclair?" James asked. Lily laughed softly.

"Alright," she said.

"Chocolate éclair it is!" the duke exclaimed, beaming at the two Heads. "Wanna go down now?" he asked.

"Yeah!" James said, eyes sparkling. Lily just rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"I'm going to read a book," she said, turning to head to the book shelves.

James caught her arm. "Come with me?"

"I haven't read since the train ride here," Lily pointed out.

"So?"

"So, I like to read."

"Betcha they have cookbooks in the kitchens."

"I would really rather read a good novel."

"_Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaase?_"

"Give me one good reason. And it has to be good." James grinned at her.

"You get to spend time with me. Chocolate éclair," he told the painting, which swung open, and he dragged Lily through. "You walked into that one," he told her grinning, but there was virtually no light in the passage so it didn't matter if he was grinning or glaring.

"That's not a very good reason," Lily protested. "And you can let go of my arm n― OW!" She had walked straight into a wall, because they couldn't see the turn ahead.

"This is ridiculous―_Lumos!_" James muttered, and pulled Lily around the curve, still not letting go of her arm. "Are you okay?" he asked, concern in his voice. She had said "OW!" pretty loudly. "I'm fine," she told him, rubbing her shoulder. "And you really can let go of my arm," she added. "But I don't want to," James said stubbornly.

"C'mon, Potter, give it back!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's my hostage."

"What for?"

"Hmm." James thought about it. "I'll give you your arm back if you quit calling me Potter," he said. Lily looked at him.

"Then what am I supposed to call you? Numbskull?" she asked.

"I am not a numbskull!" James said, pretending to take offense.

"Are too." Lily said.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are ― why are we doing this?"

"You started it."

"Did not."

"Did too. You called me a numbskull."

"Well, if I can't call you Potter and I can't call you Numbskull, what am I supposed to call you?" Lily asked, although she thought she knew the answer.

"You could call me James. That's my name, see." He nodded wisely.

"Alright…James." He released her arm and grinned at her. "That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

**A/N: Well, there y'all go. Chapter three. It was going to have more to do with rainbows, but I figured this was long enough, so that'll be in the next chapter. Please review and tell me if there are any typos I should fix! I would also appreciate general opinions. Do you think They're becoming friends too fast? 'Cause I can always get them into a big fight or something, but I really would rather not. I think there'll be a lot of little arguments, though, because they've always struck me as the kind of couple that thrives on arguing. Please let me know about anything you think is wrong! I also reposted the first two chapters with my new and improved rhyming disclaimer.**

**Luff ya,**

**Ab**


	4. Bubble Gum

**I had meant to get this out before I went to Ohio, but I type incredibly slowly, so, no such luck. Also my stupid keyboard is screwed up, probably because my evil sister spilled chocolate milk on it. Thanks to all reviewers!**

**_glowing-ice-_ I'm glad you liked the disclaimer! I came up with it while going through my stuff from the poetry unit in Language Arts last year. And running into several notes written entirely in verse during Algebra class. But please don't tell my teachers that, it would completely wreck my illusion of a perfect student. I will try to update sooner, but I type so slowly that I can't make any promises.**

**_lilnovelist-_ Glad you think it's funny! I was thinking of writing something where Fred and George somehow got put back in time and ended up in a prank war with the Marauders...what do you think?**

**_it's a riot_- I hope your patience hasn't worn thin yet!**

**_Trinity Day-_ Thank you for telling me that people don't like author's notes in the middle of text. I've never minded them, so I didn't know. I did take all of mine out. And I couldn't find where the text started to run together, so I have yet to change that. Let me know if it happens in this chapter too, and thank you for reviewing!**

**_the-Wake-just-after-Midnight- _Thank you! And, again, I didn't find where the dialogue ran together, but I will try to keep looking, and let me know if it happens in this chapter as well. Thanks for reviewing!**

Disclaimer: Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I could say this is mine,

But that isn't true!

* * *

**Chapter Four: Bubble Gum**

The next morning, James woke up to someone frantically pounding on his door. He thought whoever it was was shouting as well, but he couldn't be sure until he woke up a bit more. He stood up and opened the door, and Lily accidentally punched him in the face.

"Sorry," she muttered, "but class starts in five minutes and ―" she glanced at her watch "―thirty-seven seconds!"

James looked at her mildly. "Is that all? It sounded like you thought the castle was on fire or something," he informed her. She glared at him as though the possibility of being late was worse than the castle being on fire.

"How do you expect to get all the way down to the dungeons in less than five minutes?"

"How do you know what I've got first?"

"You're friend Sirius gave me your schedule to give to you since you weren't at breakfast. And besides, we've always had potions together. Now, how _do_ you plan on getting down there in time?"

He shrugged at her as though it didn't particularly concern him. "There're a few passages here and there. Now shoo, so I can get dressed." He pushed her out of his doorway.

Three minutes later, Lily was on her way to Potions, when somebody walked out of the wall directly in front of her. She crashed into him, and then was sent sprawling on the floor. A blond boy about her age offered her a hand up. "Are you alright?" he asked. She nodded, blushing. "I am truly sorry for knocking you over. Could I take you out on Friday to make up for it?" he asked her. She nodded again, smiling at him. He was very handsome, tall with a nice body, neat golden hair, and ocean-blue eyes. His house badge had the Ravenclaw eagle. He flashed her a charming smile. "Great I'll be in the Entrance Hall at eight o'clock. It's Thomas Kadings, by the way." He walked down the hallway, leaving a dazed Lily to glance at her watch. She panicked, and broke into a run. Two minutes left!

Then, quite suddenly, James appeared out of the wall in front of her, and she was, once again, sent sprawling. Only, this time, James was sent sprawling as well, and so was incapable of offering her a hand up. He did, however realize that she would never make it to class on time, and so grabbed her arm, shoved aside a tapestry, and pushed her through it.

"James―" she said, but was cut off as she was suddenly falling down a chute. "Oof," she said three seconds later, when she landed on something soft. Almost instantly, James landed behind her.

"Welcome, Lily, to the official Hogwarts mattress sliding course. Please keep all body parts above the mattress at all times."

"What?" Lily asked. James didn't answer. Instead, he pushed the wall behind them, and the soft thing, a mattress, Lily assumed, slid slowly forward, but soon began picking up speed as the floor slanted downwards. Soon they were speeding down the chute, gathering more and more speed, until the floor started slanting upwards to slow them down. James stood, offered Lily a hand, and pushed aside a painting right outside the Potions classroom. Lily glanced at her watch. Over a minute left. She looked at James, who was sitting down by his friend Sirius Black.

"Thank you," she called after him. He waved it off, and she sat down by Grace, Jessi, and Abby, the last of whom was trying to explain to the others why the potions they tried mixing over the summer blew up in their faces.

"But I _did_ put two of those flower-thingies," Jessi was telling Abby. Abby looked at her hopelessly.

"You were supposed to put in three of the _roots_. Did you stir it six times counter-clockwise?"

"I stirred it this way, if that's what you mean." Jessi indicated that she had, indeed, been stirring counter-clockwise.

"What did you stir it with?" Lily asked, joining the conversation.

"Um…a spoon?" Grace answered.

"What was it made of?" Abby inquired.

"Wood?" Jessi guessed.

"Was it holly?" Lily had the distinct impression that Jessi and Grace had used a normal muggle wooden spoon, as those were not labeled with the kind of wood they were made of.

"Yes? No? Maybe so?" Jessi looked completely helpless. It actually _mattered_ what you _stirred_ it with?

Lily and Abby looked at each other. Lily was pretty sure she knew what went wrong, but she had joined the conversation too late to be sure. She was about to inform Grace and Jessi of their mistake, when the dungeon door closed, drawing all attention to Professor Slughorn. All conversations immediately stopped. There was something slightly unnerving about being locked in a dark dungeon with a professor who didn't give a damn whether or not you survived the lesson, as long as he didn't get blamed.

Luckily, they were not actually making a potion today in class. Being the first day, it was only a review of things they had probably forgotten over the summer. The next few days would be covering simple or not-so-simple potions that they had made before.

Abby did not like review days in any class. Sure, it was easy, and her hand was up for every single question, usually before Professor Slughorn was finished asking. The professor was most displeased with his brilliant student who was only half paying attention. However, Professor Slughorn was wrong on that account. Abby was not paying half of her attention to class, it was receiving less than a quarter of her attention. The majority of her attention was occupied by the Marauders, all of whom, except for Remus, were not paying any attention at all. Remus was pointedly ignoring his three friends, who were whispering to themselves and passing a parchment around. By the look on Sirius's face, this was bound to be an interesting class period, and Abby did not want to be caught off guard when half of the classroom disappeared, or something. Not that it was actually possible to be on guard for anything the Marauders ever did.

About fifteen minutes after Abby noticed the movement over by the Marauders, Sirius waved his wand, muttering something under his breath. Instantaneously, what was left of Professor Slughorn's hair turned a bright bubble gum pink, and grew several inches, so you could actually see it. He, of course, did not notice, as his hair was not long enough for him to be able to see it, but the class certainly did. That, however, was not the end of it. After ten seconds, his hair turned a blinding neon green. Ten seconds later it was goldenrod. And ten seconds after that, well, you get the idea. His hair went from pink to green to yellow, then purple, orange, blue, and back to pink again.

Most people managed to hold in their laughter for the first thirty seconds or so, but the entire class, except Lily, was giggling by the time his hair reached green a second time. Lily, on the other hand, was scowling at the Marauders. Remus had assumed a carefully neutral expression, although his shoulders shook, but the other three Marauders were grinning broadly, winking occasionally at students who caught their eyes.

Lily stared intently at James until he looked at her. His grin faded a bit as she glared at him, and after a bit he began pouting. She raised an eyebrow, knowing James did not pout for no reason. He mimed sweeping floors, then writing lines, then polishing something, and so on through every type of detention he could remember Lily assigning him, until she ducked her head to hide a smile along with everybody else.

Professor Slughorn was immensely annoyed with his students. Giggling may not have been the eighth deadly sin, but he was not saying anything remarkably funny, and did not like not knowing what was going on. However, laughing was not against school rules, and he therefore could not give the entire class detention. He did, on the other hand, punish them in the only way she could: taking house points. Gryffindor must have lost at least fifty points in that lesson. They also gained about twenty, given Lily and Abby's correct answers throughout the class period. As I'm sure you incredibly talented readers know, that means they lost a grand total of thirty points. Which did not phase the Marauders in the least. They new perfectly well that their house was full of brilliant people, and had no doubt that they would be back in the lead by dinnertime. Other students were less confident.

Take Lily, for example. After mildly appreciating James's efforts to cheer her up, she glared daggers at him and Sirius all throughout Potions. And Divination. And Charms. And lunch. And then, they had a free period. Lily, of course, headed straight up to the Heads' common room, where she waited for James, glaring at the portrait hole to pass time.

After Lily had been glaring at the portrait hole for five minutes, the portraits in the room began to look at her oddly. Finally after about fifteen minutes the painting swung forward and James walked into the common room. He grinned at Lily, and asked her, "Good classes this morning, Lils?"

Which probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. Her glare intensified. If looks could turn people to jelly, he would have been a pile of mush on the floor. "I'm sure there's _something_ in the rules against hexing teachers. In fact, there's something in the rules against hexing people, _period_," she hissed, glaring at him even more intensely.

"Well," said James, "I didn't actually hex him. Number one, it was actually a relatively simple charm, as you well know. Number two, Sirius did it." He said the last bit as though he had spent years say this same thing, which he had. Lily could almost hear Sirius reply that, "What'd I do _this_ time?" But right now, Lily did not care that Sirius did it. Actually, she didn't usually care who did what, but gave them both detention. Right now, however, James would get all the blame.

"_But it was your idea!"_

"Well," said James again, "it wasn't actually my idea." He wondered if he would have to tell her who the masterminds behind a good portion of the Marauders' pranks actually were. He sincerely hoped he wouldn't have to. Lily would kill them. Or put them in detention for the rest of their lives. But probably kill them.

"Then whose idea was it, pray tell?" Lily said in a tone that suggested ― well, screamed ― that she wouldn't believe a word he said. But he didn't answer her. Instead, he asked, "Do you remember our first three years at Hogwarts?"

Lily stopped glaring and thought about it. She didn't seem to notice when James sat next to her.

* * *

**A/N: I'm going to end the chapter here, but I promise the next one quickly! It will be mainly flashbacks to the first three years that Lily and James attended Hogwarts, and will probably be up by tomorrow, possibly even later today.**

**Now, do you see that little box in the lower left hand corner that says 'Submit Review'? Good. There's a blue button next to it that says 'GO!' Click that. NOW!**

**Love y'all lots,**

**Ab**


	5. Memory Lane

**Okay, so I know this is a day or two late, and I am sorry if you were really, really waiting for it, but I had to pack. I'm going to Seattle on Monday, and then I won't be back until next Monday, but then I've got Band Camp until Friday. I might be able to update sometime on Saturday, but don't count on it, because I'm going to my grandparent's house, and then I'll be back on Tuesday. That's August 9th, if anyone's keeping track. I promise to update as much as possible for three days, but on Friday I'm going on a camping trip. I'll be back on Sunday, but I probably won't update again until Monday, because I'll have church stuff. I'll try to update loads then, and I may have it finished before school starts on the 18th, no promises though. All of this really scares me, because I never do this much in a summer, especially not all in a row. Thankfully, I have done nothing else all summer long, so I don't think I'll be going completely mental. No promises on that either. I do promise, however, to make a friend put up an author's note for me to tell all of you that they have finally locked me up with a couple of big, strong men to keep me from doing any serious damage to the human race. **

**Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers! I'm afraid I don't have the time to mentions you all by name, but I'll try to put that in next time I update. **

Disclaimer: Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I could say this is mine,

But that isn't true!

* * *

**Chapter Five: Memory Lane**

Lily was sitting on the couch, but that wasn't where she was. Not really.

_Eleven-year-old Lily Evans stared at platforms 9 and 10, willing platform 9 ¾ to appear. It didn't. She felt tears prickling the backs of her eyes. _Maybe it's all just a dream_, she thought desperately, when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned. A boy her age, was standing there, grinning. He had messy black hair, hazel eyes, and a charming smile. _

"_You're blocking the way," he informed her, still smiling broadly. _

"_The way to where?" she asked, nearly sobbing by this point. _

"_Platform 9 ¾, of course. Can't you get on?" _

"_I don't know how," she whispered. He grabbed one of her hands, and pulled her along towards the solid brick wall between platforms 9 and 10. She looked at him apprehensively, when suddenly, instead of crashing painfully into it, they were walking _through_ it. And then it was behind them, and a red steam engine was in front of them, saying Hogwart's Express. A sign above stated that they were on platform 9 ¾. Lily was shocked. _

"_Never walked through a brick wall before?" the boy teased. She shook her head. "Who are you?" she asked when she found her voice again. _

"_James Potter, at your service, m'lady," he said, bowing to her. She giggled. "And the lady's names is...?" he asked her._

"_Lily Evans," she replied, curtsying. He grinned at her. "Let's find a compartment!" he said, pulling her towards the train again._

She remembered meeting Remus and Abbie discussing some book or another in the Great Hall after the sorting. Being first years, they were also sitting by Sirius and Peter, and Jessi and Grace. Lily remembered making friends with the girls in her dorm, and laughing with them until they all fell asleep on the floor, and then classes the next day, being dead tired and sore. But most of all, she remembered the pranks. She remembered setting buckets of water over doors, charming tripwires invisible, cleaning out Sirius's mouth every time he said a swear word her mother had told her was bad. But that was first year. They were beginners in magic, and most of their pranks were harmless muggle things.

And then, there was second year. At the sorting while they were sitting at Gryffindor table, laughing at the terrified first years, the Marauders dyed the girls' hair green. It began with a simple retaliation, turning all the boys' robes bright pink. But then, the Marauders got revenge, transfiguring their Transfiguration books into forks. After that, Lily lost track of what happened when, but she remembered turning all the books in the school library into romance novels (Madam Pince never did find out who did it), and waking up one morning to see the hangings around her bead transfigured into knives. The girls had cut themselves getting out of bed, so Dumbledore gave them permission to charm the girls' stairway to keep boys out. She never realized exactly how long the charm lasted. Second year was an all-out prank war. She still remembered the look on Abby's face when Sirius had put green food-coloring in the mashed potatoes while they were still in the kitchens. She and James had been united for a week just to get revenge.

They got over it by third year, though, and were all basically back to being friends. The entire school was on edge the entire year, because with the eight of them united, anything was possible. But it didn't really matter whether or not the school was on edge, because they never used the same trick twice. What was the point in that?

And then there was the grand finale of the year. Lily and James had been playing Exploding Snap while Jessi and Remus were playing chess, with Abby waiting to play the winner for the championship, and the others were just randomly laying around. Lily could still see Sirius's face when he informed them all that he though the staircases were boring. All they had was the occasional trick step. And those were only there because a few people had tripped in the middle of spells. The stairs, he thought, needed something. Everybody looked at him thoughtfully. Except Grace. She looked at him like he was an idiot.

"What do you expect them to do, move?" she asked him incredulously. Sirius looked like he could have kissed her. In fact, he, being an impulsive person, did actually stand up and kiss her on the cheek.

"That's it!" he exclaimed happily. "We'll make the staircases move!" He looked expectantly at Remus, Lily, and Abby. "Well?" he asked. "How do we do that?" Remus looked at him like he had grown an extra head. "I've never heard of anything that large-scale that could last more than a minute or two. It's impossible."

But James liked the idea. "Nothing's impossible. _You're_ the one who's always saying that," he informed him. They all looked at Lily and Abby, and, as the latter was just staring out the window with an odd look on her face, stared pointedly at Lily.

"Don't look at me," she said. "How would I know how to do anything like that?" She looked at Abby. "Earth to Abby." She poked her friend. "Hey! At least _try_ to answer."

Abby looked at her blankly, and then seemed to snap out of her reverie. "I think ― but I'm not ― maybe ― I've got to go to the library!" she said, standing up and dashing out of the portrait hole.

Lily remembered vividly the moment Abby came back, ten minutes before their first class in the morning. Her was hair was frizzy and she had bags under her eyes, and her robes were all wrinkly, but she had a stack of books under her arm, and looked like she had just won the Olympics. She carefully explained to them what they would have to do, and everyone just gave her blank looks. She sighed, and explained again, and that time they gathered something about three minutes past midnight and quarter moon. But that didn't make much sense unless they had to do something three minutes past midnight with a quarter moon. The next time, however, they got it. And then, the Friday before everyone went home for the summer, the staircases _moved_.

She remembered when they first saw people caught on moving staircases. It was a group of seventh-year Ravenclaws heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast, and then, quite suddenly, they were no longer headed toward the Great Hall, but the dungeons. Everyone stifled their laughter to avoid detention. Except Sirius. He whooped and jumped on the railing, laughing about how incredibly fun it was. He had what was officially the latest detention ever, polishing trophies until five minutes before the carriages left for Hogsmeade.

James watched Lily's face soften until she was smiling faintly for about ten minutes, when she frowned suddenly. He was almost certain it had something to do with what had happened the summer before fourth year, but couldn't be sure, as Lily had never told the Marauders why she had sworn off pranks for good.

Lily noticed that James was seated next to her, and turned to frown at him. "Okay," she said, "I remember. I will even admit to having fun. But that doesn't answer my question."

"Yes, it does," James told her. "You are the only one who ever officially swore off pranks."

"But you four guys were the only ones who ever pranked again."

"But we're not smart enough to come up with half of our ideas."

"You're imaginative enough."

"Lily, isn't the answer obvious?" James asked, exasperated with how slow she was being.

"No. Why should it be?" Lily was mystified. It was obvious that someone outside the Marauders was helping them, he had as much as said that, but not who.

"Because. There are only four people besides ourselves who ever helped us."

"You can't mean Grace and Jessi and Abby."

"Who else? Why do you think they always look so tired in the mornings?"

"Well, Abby's insomniac. And Jessi and Grace just aren't morning people, I guess."

"For the past three years they've been sneaking out of your dormitory after you're asleep to plan with us. Remember that time when we bewitched all the school brooms to fly toward the Forbidden Forest?"

"Don't tell me that was their idea."

"Actually, it was my idea, but they did it. The spell was so strong that even now the school brooms have a tendency to buck riders off and drift over that way."

"They didn't." Lily was shocked. They could have told her that they didn't want to give up pranking. She would've understood. James saw the look on her face, and, realizing what she was thinking, snorted.

"Do you think they would've wanted to share a dormitory with you if you yelled at them as much as you yell at me? It was bad enough sharing a common room," he pointed out. Lily just sighed and shut herself in her room until afternoon classes.

On the way to Arithmancy, she looked at her friends and asked them, "Are you really the ones who enchanted the school brooms?" Jessi and Grace nodded, but Abby was reading (how she walked at the same time, Lily didn't know) and appeared not to have heard. Grace poked her. Hard.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Lily repeated her question. "I'm assuming James told you so you'd quit glaring at him?" Lily blinked at her. "You were glaring at him and Sirius all morning long. Don't your eyes hurt?"

"No," Lily said. She was processing this information. It didn't seem reasonable to yell at them for past crimes, but… It wasn't right for the Marauders to be the only ones punished. She planned to tell the three of them off over dinner, but they weren't there. It suddenly struck her that they were probably avoiding her. The Marauders had avoided the Great Hall often enough when they knew another infamous Evans-Potter screaming match would result. She finished eating and trudged up to the Gryffindor common room. Sure enough, there were her friends, playing Gobstones by the fire. Lily sat on a couch and glowered at them. They ignored her. Lily wasn't used to being ignored by people she was preparing to tell off. She glared.

"You know, Lils, it wasn't like we didn't know what we were doing," Grace told her. Jessi nodded. Abby was reading again. Lily glared more intensely at her. She didn't seem to notice.

"Abby!" Jessi shouted.

"Hmm?" Abby glanced up, and noticed Lily. "Lily, you don't really have much of a right to mad at us," she said.

"What?" Lily was surprised. If they were anybody else she would have been shouting by now, but it seemed her friends were smarter than other people when it came to an angry Lily. Usually they just tread lightly around her, but now, being on the receiving end of her temper, they changed tactics.

"I'm going to assume that you have recently relived the more memorable events of our first three years. You do know that we're sad about what happened the summer before fourth year, but it happened to you. Not us. It has also happened to lots of other people just like you. They may not have reacted the same way, but it has happened before. And, being your friends, we tried to stick by you as best we could. But then you decided to give up what was our main source of entertainment. It wasn't just being cruel to other people, as you well know. It's rarely a form of cruelty to simply play jokes. Half the time you don't know who it'll happen to." Done speaking, Abby turned back to her book.

"But ―" Lily tried to protest.

"Snape was the only one James and Sirius openly hexed like that," Jessi pointed out.

"Exactly," Lily said. "Do you know how many times they just randomly, out of the blue, hexed him? I probably don't know about half of them. They just walk up and go, 'Hey, there goes Snivellus, let's hex him!' And then they hex him ―"

"― because of something he did before. You aren't in the habit of stalking people, Lily, so you don't know how many times Snape hexed them. Half the time he started it. Snape was just more careful about not getting caught. He set more regard to the rules than they did, and kept his temper better. But it was, all in all, the same philosophy: Revenge is sweet." Grace got a mouthful of some disgusting liquid, giving Lily time to interrupt her.

"What does revenge have to do with anything? They have no reason to hex Snape the way they do ―"

"― maybe to you they don't but to them, they have every reason. You wouldn't believe the number of times they came back to the common room, bleeding. _Bleeding_, Lily. They never actually physically harmed Snape. Why do you think Grace is so good at those healing spells? We spent countless nights patching them up from run-ins with Snape down by the kitchens or someplace." Jessi went on, but Lily had given up. Her friends had no scruples about interrupting, so when they had something to say, they said it. Well, Jessi and Grace did. Abby was not often enough aware of her surroundings to be able to talk without interrupting someone.

Twenty minutes later, Lily was heading back up to the Heads' common room, feeling guilty. _Guilty_. She'd never felt guilty for telling people off before. But her friends were making her think. She realized distantly that they had been trying to do that, but it didn't really register. She considered everything she had yelled at the Marauders ― James specifically ― for, and she realized that most of the time it was all in good fun. Even though being asked out 24/7 _really_ got on her nerves. But she did owe James an apology.

* * *

**What do y'all think about this one? I didn't like it so much as the other chapters, and I might be changing it later, but I felt it got the necessary information across. Blah. I've got this weird thing going on right now. It's not really writer's block, because I know what's going to happen in the story. I just feel…blah. Whatever. Review. Tell me what you think. Like I said, I don't really like this one. Whatever.**

**Love ya,**

**Ab**


	6. Warlock

**Yeah, so I'm updating again. I am truly sorry for not having updated in a while, but the end of my summer was packed with stuff to do, which I think I've explained before, but if I haven't, I won't bore you with the details now. Suffice it to say that hot tea HURTS, marching band uniforms are extremely hot, and I no longer have homework. Well, I actually do have homework, but I never do it, so it really doesn't matter whether I have any or not. But don't tell my dad I said that. Special thanks to EiSeL, the-Wake-just-after-Midnight, Lady-Slytherin-Warrior, Forbidden, Tara, and xmaraudergirlsx.**

**To all of the wonderful reviewers whom I felt it was necessary to respond to:**

**lockerfairy- I'll look for the jelly thing and try to fix it. Thanks for pointing it out!**

**glowing-ice- Yeah, Professor Slughorn throws a lot of stuff off. I may add him in ****later, but, quite frankly, I'm just too lazy. And I'm glad you liked the ****prank war!**

**Prongsie4028- Lysol all-purpose cleaner? OUCH! Geez, getting Windex in my eye ****was bad enough… and there was that time when the Clorox bleach just randomly jumped out of the cupboard and into my face (which hurts, by the by)… I think cleaning supplies are out to get the human race. We created them, but they want out of our control, and so have a vendetta against our entire species… And now I'd better shut up, before I get too out of control. I'm glad you liked it!**

**Alaska Steele- An army of biting books? Oh, my. Consider it updated, but may I have a few to add to my collection of odd, random creatures?**

**Angela Scarlett- Of _course_ I know who you are, even without the baka squirrel whose name we can never agree on. Never fear, your time will come. I have something special in mind for YOU. And while I may not be entirely certain of when you are to show up, rest assured that you are not forgotten. I am sorry that you feel lonely, but as soon as you meet some of the other people who are also off set right now, I can promise that loneliness will be the last thing on your mind. I'm really glad you like my story. Maybe I should have Jessi read it… hehehehe… Oh, and have you looked on clickity clickity boom recently? It's been updated… evil grin**

**Thank you to everyone who reads this! I really appreciate all of you! And now, after an entire freaking page of my rambling, onto the story, which is the REAL reason you are reading all of this!**

Disclaimer: Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I could say this is mine,

But that isn't true!

* * *

**Chapter Six: Warlock**

Lily stood outside James' door, her hand raised to knock. Could she really do this? Could she possibly imagine apologizing to James Potter? After three years of yelling at him, criticizing him, and, well, so on and so forth, could she really tell him he was right? She was still pondering this five minutes later when the door swung open of its own accord. James was standing there. So maybe not of its own accord.

"Were you knocking?" James asked, looking as surprised as Lily felt.

"Er," she said. _Eloquent, _she thought._ Real eloquent._ "Actually, I'd been trying to knock for the past five minutes. James I ― I wanted to apologize."

He looked at her, clearly mystified. "What do you have to apologize for?" he asked blankly.

"I realize that I've said some things in past years that ―" she paused. This was _hard._ "― that weren't entirely warranted. So I'm sorry." There. It was out. Whatever came next was up to James. Lily felt strangely relieved by this.

Suddenly, James grinned. "I forgive you for whatever it is you're trying to apologize for," he informed her, then reached forward and gave her a hug. Lily blinked. On second thought, maybe she'd better stick to the thinking.

James looked at Lily's slightly shocked face, still grinning. "What?" he asked. "Don't you hug your other friends?"

"Well ― yes, but ―"

"Is it because I'm a guy, or because I'm me?" James wanted to know. Lily thought about this. She'd never hugged a guy she wasn't related to before. This was mostly because the only guys who asked her out were idiots who weren't smart enough to avoid competing with James Potter. Lily's boyfriends had a tendency to disappear for a couple of days, and turn up gibbering near the dungeons. Oh, sure, they returned to normal, but tended to avoid most females after their experience. Lily hadn't gone out with anyone long enough to hug them.

"I don't know," she replied truthfully.

"Okay," he said. "Did you understand a word of what Professor Flitwick was telling us today?"

"Yes," said Lily, wondering why James cared.

"Great! You can help me with that homework!" James dragged Lily off.

Lily was in the Heads' bathroom, applying make-up. It was Friday evening. "What time is it?" she called out to James, who was in the common room. Or, that was where she thought he was.

"Seven forty-five," he said appearing in the mirror behind her. "Why? Got a hot date at nine?" he teased.

"Eight, actually," she informed him. He raised his eyebrows.

"Really? Who is it?" He only sounded slightly more curious than any other guy would have, so Lily decided she could tell him without risking catastrophe.

"Thomas Kadings," she told him. He frowned.

"Have you mentioned him before? I swear the name sounds familiar…" he trailed off, looking thoughtful.

"Aaah," Lily said, applying lipstick.

"And in English that means…?" James inquired.

"Very funny," she told him. "No, I haven't mentioned him."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," said Lily, exasperated. She put her make-up bag away. "Gotta go, James. Bye." She walked into the common room, picked up her purse, and left through the portrait hole.

James was seriously confused. He just _knew_ he had heard that name before. He considered his choices, and decided he had two options to pursue. Number one: he could go to the library and attempt to look something up. Number two: he could talk to Remus or Abby and see if they had ever heard of a Thomas Kadings.

James left the common room in search of his two friends, who were probably both in the library. Because that was where smart people who actually cared about their grades went. James had actually only been in the library a couple of times; there weren't any nearby passage ways to the kitchens. He didn't even know if Sirius had _ever_ been in there.

Lily was walking down the marble staircase into the Entrance Hall. She glanced at her watch, and, realizing it was eight o'clock, began looking around for Thomas. About forty-five seconds later, he appeared right in front of her, smiling charmingly. She blinked.

"How did you get there?" she asked.

"Sideways through the particles," he answered, as though this explained everything. Lily, of course, did not have the faintest idea what he was talking about. However, she did not wish for him to think her unintelligent, and so she didn't say anything.

They did not leave through the large double doors, but rather through a smaller, more commonly used set off to the left. Thomas led the way down to Hogsmeade as they discussed what would happen if the world ended and they had to rebuild it. Lily tried out her own feeble theory, which Thomas instantly shot down in a nice enough way. Lily wasn't really offended, though, she had only developed this theory when Abby started reading sci-fi books that Lily was too busy to read herself. She then tried out Abby's theory, which, not to her surprise, did not have any obvious errors. She took this as Thomas' way of admitting he couldn't find any problems with it. Abby had cross-referenced her theory with every new world scenario she could come up with, so it was pretty much perfect. Nice to know someone would know what to do if the government somehow destroyed the world, and they had to rebuild.

They were discussing the advantages and disadvantages of journalism (Thomas was dead-set against it, for some reason he would not explain) when they reached a small restaurant called Fireball's Feast, and sat down to what Lily expected to be a quiet, enjoyable, non-stressful meal.

How very wrong she was.

* * *

James was in the library, completely lost. He had never realized just how large the library was, and had absolutely no idea where to find anything, let alone anyone who actually knew their way around the place. Luckily, the librarian, Madam Pince, came to his rescue. In a roundabout sort of way.

"Shouldn't you be at the study tables?" She was frowning disapprovingly at him, her lips a thin line.

"Uh…where are they?" James put on his best helpless puppy look. She rolled her eyes and dragged him along, muttering to herself the whole way.

"Students these days… don't know how to properly respect my books… wandering around like the young hooligans they are… treat the place like their own personal playground…" She dumped him at a table and went to find the next "young hooligan" who was terrorizing her precious books, still muttering under her breath. About thirty seconds later, Remus and Abby appeared in front of him, arms laden with books. They sat down across from him.

"So, James…what brings you to the library?" Remus asked, as Abby looked at him expectantly, for once not buried under a mountain of books.

"I was looking for you guys… How did you know which table I was at so quickly?"

Remus and Abby exchanged an amused look. It was, for once, Abby who answered. "Really, James. If you came to the library more often, you'd know. And do speak more quietly, or Madam Pince will kick us out. How may your bookworm friends assist you today?"

James blinked. He suspected that was the longest speech Abby had ever made willingly that did not involve explaining something incredibly complicated to people with a far inferior IQ. "I was actually wondering if you could tell me something―"

"Obviously," Abby interrupted him. "Now, it's also obvious that the library is making you nervous, so why don't you just cut to the chase and tell us why you're here?"

James blinked again. This library place was excellent for making Abby start talking. Maybe she just felt most comfortable surrounded by books. He certainly didn't. But Abby had always been weird like that. She knew odd things for odd reasons, and divulged this information for stranger reasons.

"Well, have either of you heard of a Thomas Kadings?"

"Thomas Kadings…the name does sound vaguely familiar, but I couldn't tell you why." Remus looked thoughtful.

Abby, on the other hand (on which you have different fingers), looked shocked. "But I thought…" she muttered. The boys looked at her curiously. "Never mind," she told them. "Why do you want to know?"

"Lily's on a date with him, and I thought the name sounded familiar."

"_WHAT!_" Abby shouted, attracting the attention of Madam Pince, who looked up from the desk, trying to find the culprit who disturbed the peace in her precious library. Abby grabbed James and Remus and dragged them behind a few shelves, looking petrified. James looked slightly confused and Remus looked mildly amused. After Madam Pince had gone and was safely stationed behind her desk again, Abby let out her breath.

"Tell me you did not say that Lily is on a date with Thomas Kadings." Although slightly less scared than she had been a few seconds ago, Abby was still very worried, and James privately thought that she could do with a calming potion just now.

"That's what I said. Is that bad?"

"_Bad?_ It's a disaster waiting to happen! Thomas Kadings is definitely _not_ date material!" Abby was now fairly hysterical. James found it quite interesting, and, had he not also been worried about Lily, would have been laughing because of how odd a hysterical person looked while trying to be quiet.

"So, Abby, are you ever going to explain who exactly Thomas Kadings is, or are you just going to sit there becoming more and more worried?" Remus asked, obviously amused at her facial expression, or maybe just the odd, blotchy coloring of her face.

Abby took a deep breath. "Thomas Kadings," she began, "is not a wizard, first of all. He's what we call a warlock, a master of traps. Warlocks can bind anything, even magic. They could trap anyone or anything anywhere for any length of time, any time they wanted to. Some of them work for the Ministry, binding the powers of particularly dangerous criminals. Binding's pretty much all they do, but there's a few other traits, disappearing and reappearing at will, things like that. And immortality. They can't ever die. No one knows how long, precisely, warlocks have been around, even their memories don't reach back that far, but they've been here for millennia. So Thomas Kadings only looks seventeen, he's actually God knows how many thousands of years old. Mostly warlocks keep themselves to themselves, as wizards and muggles alike have a tendency to notice that they never age. No new warlocks are ever born, either. The only warlocks there will ever be are the ones around now.

"There has been the occasional famous warlock, such as the gods of Greek mythology. Zeus and all them. There's others. But Thomas Kadings is the most recent one. Apparently he did something only a few hundred years ago, and, well, I'm not actually supposed to know, but the newspapers were interesting, but it didn't really have much information on the details, so I found out for myself—"

"Yes, yes, this is all very interesting, I'm sure, but what exactly does it have to do with Lily?" James interrupted. Abby looked faintly annoyed.

"I was getting to that. Thomas Kadings no longer exists to us. Or, by rights, he shouldn't."

* * *

**Maybe that was a cliffhanger, and maybe it wasn't. The fact is, I'm too lazy to type anymore today, and this was the ideal spot to break this chapter in two bits. It was a tad longer than I had planned. **

**YAY! for feedback! Reviews make the world go 'round!**


	7. Sparrow

**Um. Hi. I still exist, even though I don't update very often. Sorry it's so short. Review, please?**

**Disclaimer:**Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I could say this is mine,

But that isn't true!

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Sparrow**

Lily was on her date with Thomas Kadings, having a lovely time, and as they were making small talk he just…disappeared. One second he was sitting across from her, and the next he was gone. Lily screamed.

This, of course, drew the unwanted attention of other guests. Several people came over to the table, wondering what was wrong, asking if they could help. Lily was trying to explain that she had been on a date, when suddenly her date had disappeared.

"Maybe he apparated, dear," a grandmotherly old witch said. Her husband nodded his agreement.

"But…" Lily started, but was interrupted. She screamed again. Only this time it was because the door flew off its hinges, admitting an out of breath James. Several other people screamed as well.

"Where… is.. he?" James panted, wand out.

"Where is who?" the grandmotherly witch asked.

"That… Thomas... creep..."

"He disappeared," Lily said, wondering what on earth James had done to interrupt a date this time.

"I didn't do anything," James told her, sensing her thoughts. He was about to say something else when a drunk guy in a pirate's costume walked up to him.

"Hello," the drunk guy said. "Is there any rum around here?"

"No," James replied, thinking he didn't need any more alcohol.

"Pity," the man said. "Any of that firewhiskey stuff Thomas mentioned?"

"No," Lily said this time. "Do you know where Thomas went?"

"Oh, sure, love," the drunk guy said. "If he were still here, d'ya think I would be?"

"I don't know."

"Well, Thomas is back on the ship, of course. Somethin' went wrong with that spell o' his, I s'pose. But it's always had a couple o' holes in it."

"Oh," James said, suddenly understanding.

"Well, I'm glad somebody knows what's going on here. Could anyone please tell me where my date disappeared to?" Lily wanted to know why she seemed to be the only one there who didn't know what was going on with her date.

"I don't really understand much. If you want the whole story, ask Abby. But the gist of it is he's back in seventeen hundred and something," James told her.

"What?"

"I told you, ask Abby. All I understand is he's on a pirate ship that existed three hundred years ago."

"Oh, and this makes perfect sense."

"No, actually it doesn't. I don't really understand anything."

The drunk interrupted by summoning a barmaid. The girl glared at him. "I was on break," she said irritably.

"Sorry, love. Could ya get me a drink?"

"No."

"How about rum?"

"That constitutes as a drink, doesn't it? Why don't you just go away and leave me alone?"

"But where's the fun in that?"

"You know, I think there's a cache of rumin the forest somewhere. You could ask these guys to take you there."

"Thanks, love."

"Don't call me love."

"Sorry, love. Say, either of you chaps know about this forest thing?"

Lily and James both looked at the drunk guy. How could you not know where the forest was? He ought to have been able to see it through the window.

"Yeah," said James.

"Great! Could you and the lady lead me there?"

"Sure…" said Lily, wondering why on earth he would need a guide.

* * *

Despite only needing to walk roughly thirty feet, it took at least thirty minutes to get the drunk guy to the forest. Once finished with the pirate, James and Lily walked back to Hogwarts together. 

For several minutes the two were silent, but as they were passing Hagrid's hut, James turned to Lily.

"Hey, Lils?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna go out with me?"

"…sure…"

**And there we conclude this chapter. The next chapter is more of an epilogue, it tells mostly of their wedding and Sirius spiking the punch…wait…you didn't hear that from me. Anyway, it's been great. I love you all and really enjoyed writing this, I hope you enjoy reading it as well. No matter what you think, always remember to click that little blue button and review. I'd really appreciate it if everyone reviewed, because I'm on the favourites list of some people who've never reviewed at all. And that makes me kind of sad.**

**Until next time,**

**QDT**


	8. Punch

**The end… how strange. It's making me sad. There's a lot of stuff in this one. It's really more of a giant wrap-up chapter than an epilogue. I don't want to post this, because then it would be gone, but if I don't everyone will get mad at me for not finishing it… Ah, well. I've started typing another story, so I can use that to keep me entertained. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: **Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I could say this is mine

But that isn't true!

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Punch**

FIVE YEARS LATER

James was walking Lily back to her flat after a date. They had reached her doorstep and he was about to kiss her goodnight, when he said something.

"Hey, Lils?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna marry me?"

* * *

Lily was at the church. She had on a lovely white dress, a veil, a bouquet, the whole nine yards. Her emerald eyes and cherry hair contrasted very well with all the white, and Jessi thought she looked gorgeous. And said so. Well, made her opinion known. 

"AAAAAAAH! LILY YOU LOOK WONDERFUL!" she shouted. Abby, who was standing right next to her in an identical bridesmaid's dress, winced. Grace, however, was having problems.

"Um…Lily…I know it's your wedding day and everything, but the groomsman who I was supposed to walk down the aisle with seems to have disappeared," she said.

"Peter's gone…?" Lily looked shocked. She opened her mouth to start worrying, but Abby interrupted her.

"Lily, worrying is not going to help. Everything will be fine. I'm sure Jessi and Sirius can find a suitable groomsman in four hours." She had placed her hand over Lily's mouth to keep her from saying anything.

"Why do I have to go?" Jessi wanted to know.

"Because, you're the best at attracting guys, and Sirius would be the one most likely to be able to talk someone into doing it," Abby told her in an annoying know-it-all voice. "Let's go find him," she added.

"So I get to spend quality time with Lilykins!" Grace said, hugging the bride, who now looked as though she was about to faint. You might faint, too, if Sirius Black were the only possible way for your wedding to go on properly.

* * *

"So, Mrs. Lupin, how is it, exactly, that Abby managed to talk you into doing this?" Sirius said as they scouted out possible replacements. 

Jessi looked absolutely tickled to be addressed as Mrs. Lupin, as they had only been married a few months. "She said it in that scary smart person's voice she's got. Not the excited nerd one, the scary genius one."

"The scary genius one? The one that makes her sound like a really evil criminal mastermind?"

"Like the brains behind the Mafia? Yeah, that one."

"I'm sorry. How about that guy?"

"Grace is six inches taller than him, even without her shoes. Definitely a no." The guy in question looked to be even shorter than six inches shorter than Grace, actually.

"Well, then how's that guy?"

"He's got to be at least seven feet tall. We'd all look ridiculous standing up there." Suddenly, Jessi spotted someone.

"Hey, isn't that—"

"—Gilderoy Lockhart? You seriously think he'd do?"

"Well, he looks good, he's about the right height, and he's stupid enough to get drunk enough to pass out during the reception."

"Good point. Hey, Lockhart!"

* * *

After that, the wedding went on without a hitch. But, of course, there was always the reception…

* * *

Sirius wandered over to the punch table. Without looking in the least suspicious (if it was possible for him to not look suspicious), he carefully slipped a small amount of firewhiskey in. Let the fun begin…

* * *

Lily looked at all of the guests at her wedding, and sighed happily. James wrapped an arm around her waist. 

"Happy, Lils?" he whispered in her ear, sending shivers up her spine. She leaned against him in response. And then, quite suddenly, it was time for the bride and groom to dance.

James led Lily onto the dance floor and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest and he rested his chin on top of her head as the music began to play. As they danced, James surveyed all of their guests.

_Everyone_ was there. There were his parents, Lily's parents, that drunk guy from the Fireball's Feast, even the barmaid. (Of course, the barmaid _was_ a friend Lily knew through Abby.) He thought he could see Gilderoy Lockhart passed out in a corner, and in the opposite corner Remus and Jessi were snogging. Abby was talking to a guy, both of them poring over a large book, never mind how it got there. Sirius was standing near the punch. He saw Severus Snape sitting at a table looking bored, and wondered vaguely why Lily had invited him. But, quite frankly, he was too happy to care just then.

"Told you I'd get you someday, Lily Potter," he whispered to her. She looked up at him and grinned.

"You did, didn't you."

"Yes, I did. I've just said that."

* * *

Several hours later, the barmaid, whose name was Allison, was talking to Abby. 

"So…this Snape character…does he like firewhiskey?"

"I'd assume so," said Abby, wondering why on earth she should know Severus Snape's drinking habits.

"Great! I've got three ideas. We can (a) spike his firewhiskey with a love potion, (b) spike his firewhiskey with stale butterbeer, or (c) spike his firewhiskey like a volleyball and hit him in the face with it."

"…Must you always come up with strange things for us to do to ruin formal occasions?"

"We're not ruining it, persay, rather improving it. Wouldn't James and Lily want to remember their wedding?"

"I don't think Lily would appreciate it quite as much as James would."

"Ah, well. You can't have everything."

* * *

Three hours later, most of the guests were either drunk, or hiding under tables. That is, hiding under the tables that people weren't dancing on top of. 

Lily was staring at her guests in utter horror. James sat down next to her sadly. "I'm sorry, Lils," he said, looking at her.

She gave him a watery smile. "At least the ones who will remember it have enough tact to not mention it," she said. He wrapped her in his arms and the two of them stayed like that for the rest of the evening.

In fact, they didn't even look up when Allison really did spike Snape's firewhiskey like a volleyball. Unfortunately, her aim was off, and it hit the drunk guy instead. The force of the impact, combined with too much alcohol, knocked him out and he stayed like that for the rest of the evening.

* * *

After their disastrous reception, however, things went pretty well for James and Lily. He became an Auror as everyone had expected, and she started her career as a healer at St. Mungo's. Soon after that she went on maternity leave, and then Harry was born, and you do, of course, know the story after that. Who doesn't? 

Jessi got a job as a fashion designer at Madam Malkin's, while Remus was shunted from job to job with whoever would hire a werewolf. Both were members of the Order until Jessi was killed during a Death Eater attack on their home.

Grace married a man called Charles Honeyduke, and together they started a candy shop in Hogsmeade.

Abby never married, but went on to become a Potion's Mistress, occasionally entertaining herself by making Snape's cauldron blow up during training. Her muggle sister, however, married a man by the name of Jim Granger, and Abby spent quite a bit of time teaching their daughter, Hermione, anything she wanted to know.

Sirius was an Auror with James until his "betrayal" and consequential trip to Azkaban. This was, of course, all Peter's fault.

* * *

A lot of this may seem a bit depressing, but I assure youthat everyone was quite happy. While they were alive, that is. 

**The End.**


End file.
